Heat Rush
by Sabina Synthetic
Summary: Centered around Kairi and her nobody, this follows the story of an alternate kh2, wherin Axel develops a sort of fondness for the kidnapped Kairi. NaminexAxelxKairi pairings. Rated M for violence and sexual content in later chapters.
1. Dark Abyss

It was an awakening like no other; a birth by darkness. Her eyes- set of piercing ice-blue- opened for the first time to the overpowering black abyss of endless, suffocating surroundings.

An unspeakable force weighed down upon her, so strong it were as though all the malice of the human race was contained in its unseen depths.

The girl remained immobile in a crumpled pile, suspended midair. She was afraid to move, wanting to keep as secluded as possible from the indescribably deadly power that attempted to embrace her. She engaged her mind in far-off thoughts- using the power of her sense of self to deter the dark force relentlessly trying to invade the space she occupied.

Yet the power that surrounded her seemed to dislike her presence, as the weight that compressed her body grew greater. She opened her mouth as though to scream out, only to allow darkness to fill her insides and swallow her voice, writhing slowly down her throat like a fat black snake.

The girl felt as though she was going to die; she was an unwanted guest in what appeared to be the realm of Satan himself.

Though she possessed no understanding of the power that held her in such a chokehold, the girl knew she would have to defend herself from it. Her life depended on it.

With the strength of her will she created a mental barrier, pushing out the presence that tried to consume her. She knew her resistance was futile and that the evil force was merely toying with her, holding back the full extent of its power. Still, knowing such a thing was not making her own feeble defences any stronger. With every moment that passed she felt herself weakening slowly, and she could sense that the darkness was piercing her being; crushing against her spirit. It would only take a littlemore to destroy her completely; this much she knew.

She was beginning to forget herself – all of her fondest memories dissolving into nothingness. She didn't want to let go of herself, but giving in seemed so much easier an option than fighting the inevitable. She lost track of who she was and gradually allowed herself to succumb to the greater power, closing her eyes and waiting for her existence to draw to an unfortunate and untimely close.

Glued to the spot and trembling from uncontrollable fear, the girl began to wonder if there were many others to have been swallowed up in this way. Something lead her to doubt that she was to be the first, or even the last.

By now her ankles had ceased to be. It was as though they were numb, but looking down at where the mass of nothingness had reclaimed their place, she knew better than to think so.

It was slowly eating her alive from the feet upwards, and it felt so cold as it claimed her skin, wrapping itself around her so possessively; drawing further and further up, reaching her neck and then higher…and higher…and…

"Hey!"

A voice?

Was she dead?

A hand grabbed hold of her by the roots of her hair and roughly pulled. She gritted her teeth with the pain to her head, screwing her face up into a distorted wince.

Was this some new form of torture, or had she entered hell itself? She groaned, wishing that it could all end sooner and not keep her in limbo.

But then she was free. To her utter amazement her limbs were all perfectly intact, although they felt like jelly as she attempted to move them. Abruptly her eyelids swung open, and she gasped for air. She was alive.

"You…you saved me!" She wheezed, staring up at the eerie dark clothed man who stood before her, entirely covered in a long hooded robe. She was barely able to distinguish him from the darkness in which he stood, at her side.

Although she knew better than to trust strangers, in this bizarre place everything seemed so different. Another human _had_ to be a good sign, and she felt safe when she was near him.

Unexpectedly, her rescuer took her hand in his own, almost shattering her fragile bones in his vice-like grip. He dragged her along behind her, and she submitted willingly, as she had no desire to remain alone in that place.

His strides were large and rapid, and her own short legs had difficulty keeping up as the man paced continuously onward for what seemed like a lifetime. She began to question in her mind whether there even _was _an exit to this place that seemed to stretch on into the distance as far as the eye could see; miles and miles of empty space.

But then they stopped.

The man made some kind of flowing gesture with his hand, and suddenly a large door appeared in the middle of nowhere. The girl frowned in confusion as she realised that upon peering around the door she could see to the endless blackness on the other side. What good was a door if it did not lead to a room, she wondered, knowing not that she was soon to find out.

The man released her hand and stepped forward towards the door, grasping a firm hold of the aged looking handle. As he opened it, the girl was forced to squint for the brightness of what lurked inside. All she could see was pure untainted white.

"What's _that_…?" She interrogated.

The man did not answer, he simply stood at the side of the door, signalling for her to step inside.

"Not the talkative type I take it?" She mumbled quietly to herself…before stepping closer to the door. She took small precise steps, dreading what could possibly happen if she stepped into a doorway that led to no earthly room.

She paused, leaning her upper body forward to investigate the doorway. She placed a cautious hand into the whiteness, only to see it disappear before her eyes. She withdrew it instantly, panic-stricken.

She inspected the hand, and it seemed exactly as it always had been; no harm done.

He didn't seriously expect her to go in _there_? Anything could happen. Thoughts flooded her head of possible realities in which she could explode like a balloon or even disappear completely.

She was frightened; teeth-chatteringly so. In the depths of her stomach, butterflies danced to the tune of her worry.

"I'm…I'm scared…" She blurted out, flushing red.

The dark figure offered no words of comfort. He did however, approach her and place a leather-gloved hand on the bare skin of her shoulder. She shivered at this unreadable gesture, her two enchantingly large eyes peering upwards to search for his face, hidden beneath the hood he wore.

That was when he pushed her. It took her by surprise and she stumbled off balance, letting out a high-pitched squeal as her body toppled forwards. She was going to land right in the doorway.

But then she stopped herself. She regained her footing and was able to pull back to standing. She was safe. Or would have been, were it not for the second push, more forceful this time, knocking her tiny frame directly into the source of her fears.


	2. White Haven

Chapter 2

As though falling from some great height she tumbled, unsure of which direction she was travelling in. A sudden rush of chilling air consumed the girl's body, cradling her as she span onward, terrified and confused. She dared not open her eyes.

The spinning intensified until she reached the point at which she felt she would be violently sick at any moment. Her chest tightened as she struggled for breath.

Momentary thoughts rushed in and out of mind like bullets, and her head felt like it was about to cave in. She couldn't concentrate on anything.

Then came a jolt that ran through her back like electricity.

She had landed.

It was so unexpected a landing. Her entire body convulsed with shock and her neck jerked agonisingly backwards.

It was excruciatingly painful. Her body flopped backwards like a rag doll as her head began to throb. Like a child with a scraped knee she refused to move from the position in which she was sprawled so gracelessly.

Her eyes welled up with heavy tears that rained down her reddening cheeks as fire against her skin. She sobbed quietly into her hands, cradled her aching head.

The fact that she was making such a scene didn't even occur to her, but as far as she was aware there were no people in sight anyway.

All that she could think of was the deep, intense throbbing of her skull. She bit her lip and resisted the urge to scream out in desperation.

She had lost everything. Her life, her friends, her family- everything had slipped away. She was nobody anymore. 

It frustrated her so much. Where had her memories gone? Her head felt so empty. She was as blank as a plain white canvas, once filled with a beautiful painting that had been washed away by the rain.

She couldn't even remember her _name_.

She paused. That couldn't possibly be true. Her _name_ couldn't have gone. It had to be in her head _somewhere_…didn't it?

'Who am I?' She asked herself, wracking her brain for a name. A name could surely bring back memories.

"I'm…I'm…"

It was on the tip of her tongue. She could feel it there, ready to burst from her mind but it only lasted a moment. Then it was gone. Gone forever.

"Who am I?" She shouted, her tone pleading, pathetic and whiny.

"You're nobody." Came a voice. The same voice that she had first awoken to. It sounded familiar already, despite how little she had heard him say.

The voice was that of a young man. It had a certain depth…such tone. Indescribable.

The girl hoisted herself upwards; the pain of her head beginning to ease off a little.

He contrasted with the environment in an almost poetic sense, she noticed. Black against a white backdrop, like a beacon of evil in a place meant for goodness.

"Who are you? And how can I be nobody?" She interrogated, agitated at his statement, even despote how he had only been reinforcing the thought already sprouting within her head. "If I was nobody I wouldn't exist!" She exclaimed anxiously, staring at the hooded man who stood before her, apathetic to her emotions.

He began to laugh menacingly. It made him sound malevolent but at the same time, although she failed to understand it, his tone possessed warmth, as though he were sharing an old joke with a friend.

"I'm surprised you even _made_ it to be honest…you're weaker than any of the others." He said.

"Others…Others who?" She squinted at him. She wanted to see the face hidden beneath the hood, if only to know his expression.

"You're lucky. You coulda' quite easily died back there." The man paced in front of her, making gestures with his hands as he spoke. "It's happened before ya'know. Only once…and I wasn't the one sent to get em'…but another one died here. On that spot where you're sat."

The girl recoiled and quickly drew to her feet, stepping away as though detecting the stench of death.

"Chill…it was a long time ago now. _Too_ long. I've been like this for too long and we're never getting any closer." He garbled.

"Ahh…oww!" The girl gasped, interrupting his incoherent babble. Grasping her head between her hands once more, she leant over.The pain had worsened.

"That happens on your first time. It takes a little time to adjust to this."

"Make it stop…please…please…it hurts! It hurts so…"

"It'll pass."

"But…"

"In about a year or two." He added.

"No! It's…it's…it's"She ran away from him. She knew she would rather die than survive in such pain. It was so easy to force all the blame for everything on him, and she found herself instinctively doing so. He was making her feel uncomfortable anyway, and she was almost certain that he was ogling her intensely from beneath his hood, watching her every motion.

" Relax kid, I'm just messin' with ya'. Trust me." He said. She could hear his footsteps approaching from behind, and she recalled what had happened the last time she had allowed him to stand behind her.

She turned swiftly on her heels.

"_Trust_ you? You pushed me through that…that _thing_, knowing that I might not make it out alive! Then you don't even answer my questions, _and_…and you're a complete pervert! And you expect me to trust you?" She raged, stomping her foot in anger. She desired answers to all the endless questions in her head, wanting to satisfy her unquenchable thirst for lost knowledge, and this stranger wasn't helping at all.

"Pervert?" He sounded confused. "Well…anyway, maybe you should try just giving me a chance to explain?" He held out a hand for her to take, but she shook her head in defiance.

"Why should I? I can't trust you! I don't even think I could _learn_ to trust a guy like you! And why do you wear that hood up all the time? You really expect me to trust a guy when I can't see his face? Well…well, no! That's your answer! And if you _don't_ mind I'm going back home now…wherever my home _is_!"

She turned melodramatically and began to stride off with a newly unleashed confidence that ill-fitted her, when suddenly she felt hands clamp around her small shoulders. She could no longer move.

"Let go of me!" She demanded. Her will was strong, but her body not so, and she trembled fearfully.

He was almost a foot taller than her, and he had to bend low but still he lowered his head to her ear, so that she could feel his warm breath beating down on her.

"Do you want me to?" He whispered.

She was even more nervous than before.

"What kind of a question is that?"

"I think you don't. I think you're just scared of the truth. You're turning your back because you're afraid…am I right?"

"No…no, you're wrong!" She assured herself.

She didn't sound so certain, stuttering out her words. She expected him to pick up on this, but he proved himself an unpredictable character.

"Okay." Axel responded, releasing her and raising his hands in surrender. "Well…see you around then. Exits over there." He said, waving one hand in a general direction.

She took a step forward.

She was free. She could run out the door, which lay before her in the distance. She could run away and no one would stop her.

So why wasn't she moving. What force kept her there, in that pure yet eerie place, with a man she was growing to despise? Gazing backwards at the man who had in one day both rescued and almost killed her, she was instantly stunned. Her jaw-dropped as she saw him properly for the first time, hood lowered.

She hated to admit it but he was undeniably beautiful. His face was perfectly chiselled, with a soft whiter than white complexion, even lighter than her own skin of porcelain pallor. His eyes were bluer than blue, his smirk, sadistic yet seductive; full lips twisted upwards at one corner. Then there was his hair, a flaming red mane…so dramatic.

Forgetting herself, she couldn't help but smile at him. Her own smile appeared so much more innocent and pure than his. Gazing awestruck into his eyes it made her feel as though she was seeing straight through to his soul within. There was too much to comprehend hidden behind his smile, and she knew that. Still, why was it then that his eyes seemed so empty?

She came to her senses, recalling how irritating she found him. Wiping clean the smile that lit her face, she turned back to face the door.

"It's Axel. Got it memorised?" He said, in answer to an unasked question.

"Huh…?"

"My name. You wanted to know." He replied. "And I can't explain _how_ you're a nobody cus' I never knew you before…but don't assume just cause' you're walkin' around like you own the place it means you exist. "

She laughed inside. All the answers she had been dying to know had come at once, and she had been so _certain_ it would make her feel more fulfilled, but it only left a bigger hole where her knowledge was supposed to be.

She was so stupid. In her rage she had been asking none of the right questions. She would have kicked herself for her own idiocy had it not been for how strange it would have made her appear. She craved understanding, and something led her to believe that if she were to leave through the door ahead, no one on the outside could explain things like Axel could. Something about him told her that he knew far more than he was letting on, and so she turned back to face him again.

"Do you know what _my _name is?" She asked, hanging her head in embarrassment at having forgotten her own name.

"Nah…you don't have one yet. When I take ya' to Xemnas he'll choose one for ya'." Axel explained.

Yet more questions arose in her mind. Who was this Xemnas, and what right had he to decide _her_ name?

"Hey…you're not taking me anywhere! I'm my own person and I can do whatever I like! And anyway, I don't want a _new_ name…I want my _old_ one back!"

"Okayy…okaay." Axel sighed, exasperatedly. "Who rattled your cage?"

"Well why can't I remember my name!" She screeched.

Axel paced towards her calmly. Seeing him so cool and collected only made her grow ever madder. She felt stuck- locked in some dream world where everything was the complete opposite of how it was supposed to be. Her usually milky white skin was beet red, and she glared dangerously at Axel. She was a volcano, ready to erupt at any second.

Still this did not deter the over-confident man, who was now less than a foot away from her.

"You think Axel is my true name?"

The girl's anger instantly dissolved, replaced with curiosity.

"You mean…you lost your name too?"

"Yeah. Never known anyone take the news so bad as you." Axel chuckled.

"So…you mean I'll never know my real name?"

"No...we _all_ will someday."

"So…you're waiting to?"

As she questioned him, she noticed how his expression and voice rapidly changed. He looked suddenly downtrodden and for the shortest of moments she would have hugged him, or done anything, just to make him laugh at her again. It felt so awkward seeing him broken.

"Yeah."

"So then this Xemnas…he's gonna' give me a name right?

"Yeah."

Axel was entirely expressionless, like a toy that had run out of battery.

"So are we gonna' go see him?" She asked.

Axel reawakened.

"So you wanna' come with the pervert now, do ya'? He smirked.

She laughed melodically.

"Do I really have a choice?"

"It depends. Do you trust me now?"

"A little bit." She said nervously.

He offered her his hand, and she nervously took it. Something had changed between them, and in one short moment she had gained some little understanding.

Axel wasn't trying to hurt her. She knew that now. And maybe somewhere on the inside he was just as scared and hurt as she was. And even if not much had really changed, somewhere in her head things had clicked into place, and she realised that there were other people in the world who were just as alone as she was. And maybe, just maybe, Axel was one of them.

x---------x

Sooooo, that took a while really. And I only have a rough outline for the plot of this sooooo yeah. If you've read this far PLEASE take the time to review. Constructive critisism always appreciated.

Kay thanx byeee xx

XSabenarrX


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